College football offenses aren’t producing as many high-quality tight ends as the NFL wants, and so NFL teams are looking elsewhere.
Sometimes looking elsewhere means converting basketball players like Antonio Gates into tight ends, but in the case of Taylor Thompson, it means taking a defensive end and moving him to the other side of the ball.
Thompson told Sirius NFL Radio (via ESPN.com) that he has several workouts scheduled with NFL teams that are looking at him as a tight end. Thompson was recruited to SMU as a tight end before moving to defensive end as a freshman, and he said he wants to play tight end in the NFL. The 6-foot-6, 260-pound Thompson said he’s similar to Rob Gronkowski as an athlete.
After SMU’s Pro Day, Gil Brandt wrote at NFL.com that Thompson ran well, caught the ball well and could be drafted as high as the late third round.